smith



N. A. SMITH.

TOY BANK.

APPUCATION FILED FEB15,I9I9.

' Patented June 3, 1919.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

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N. A. SMITH.

TOY BANK.

APPLICATION HLD FEB. 15. m9.

Patented June 3, 1919.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 IIIL cram u. c.

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NICHOLAS A. SMITH, 0F GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO ALEXANDER F. WINTERS, 0F GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN.

TOY BANK.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 3, 1919.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, NICHOLAS A. SMITH, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at Grand Rapids, in the county of Kent and State of Michigan, have invented V certain new and useful Improvements in Toy Banks; and I do hereby declare the following to be full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to a toy bank, the same being designed so as to receive and hold the smaller pieces or coins coupled with which is a mechanism to be used in entering coins into the bank to aiford amusement and permit the development of considerable sklll in operation. The features of amusement and with regard to which skill 1n operation is possible consist in the projection of each coin toward momble targets and so timing this projection that the coin hits the target, whereupon the coin is returned for another shot, and the target is knocked down. If the target is missed, the coin goes into the receptacle portion of the bank and cannot be used again. In practice it is designed to use a plurality of targets on asingle moving rnember and it may be the practice that when one of the targets is knocked down, that only those remaining, can be used for succeeding shots until such time as all of them are made ineffective to stop coins. The rules for procedure can be varied widely, however, as desired.

It is .the object and purpose of the invention to produce a device attaining the abovedescribed ends as well'as many others which will appear more fully as the description progresses, which device is of simple and economical construction, durable, and not likely to get out of order, and in which one distinguishing principle of operation is that the possession of skill on the part of the op erator isproductive'of more shotsfor said operator with a given number of coins, and

the penalty for lack of skill is a passage of the coin to the bank and loss thereof in the further operation of the device.

For an understanding of the invention and of a preferred form of construction embodying the same, reference may be had to the accompanying drawing, in which,

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the toy bank someparts being broken away to show interior mechanism.

Fig. 2 is a plan view thereof.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the receptacle portion of the device.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of one element of the construction used to mount the rotating target carrying member.

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the coin guide.

Fig. 6 is a central longitudinal sectional view of the coin guide.

Fig. 7 is a horizontal section taken through the rear removable closing member for the receptacle and illustrating the method of connecting the same to the receptacle, and V Fig. 8 is atransverse section taken through the receptacle a distance in front of its rear end and looking to the rear of the receptacle.

Like reference characters refer to like parts in the different views of the drawings.

In construction there is provided an elon gated closed receptacle formed chiefly of sheet metal. The receptacle includes sides 1, a bottom :2, and two top portions 3 turned inwardly from the upper edges of the sides 1, andfrom the free edges of said portions 3 upturned lips 4 extend, the same being spaced at distance apart and parallel to each other and extending toward the rear but not the full length of the receptacle. Notches 5 are out in the lips 4: between the ends thereof, as shown and at the rear ends of said lips a the same are reduced in height, as shown at 6 and notches made in front of said parts 6 and'between the parts 3 and 6 for a purpose later appearing.

The front end of the receptacle comprises a plate 7 of sheet metal integral with ihe metal from which the'body of the receptacle is made, it being turned up from the front end of the bottom Qand formed with side flanges 8 to pass on the outside of the sides 1, being secured in any suitable manner as by soldering or welding. This end is slotted at its upper edge for a distance at a point between the two lips 3, as shown at 9, and at each side of the slot an ear 10 is struck from the end 7 to be used in attaching the coin guide to the receptacle. r

The coin guide is also formed from sheet metal with two parallel sides 11 connected by a narrow bottom 12. At the front end of the guide each side 11 is formed with a laterally extending ear 13 with an opening 11 therethrough through which an attaching ear 10 may pass. The sides 11 are extended above the cars 13 and curved away from each other to simulate the appearance of a gun barrel as indicated at 15, and at the proper point portions thereof are cut away to form the notches or recesses 5 which when the guide is attached to the receptacle come into direct conjunction with the notches 5 heretofore noted. The rear ends of the sides 11 similarly are formed with projections 6 of less height than the parts 15 of the guide. In practice the guide may be inserted at the front of the receptacle, those parts thereof below the parts 15 entering through the slot 9 while the lips 3 lie outside of the upper portions of sides 11 and are received within the curved portions 15. hen the guide is fully in place, ears 13 come against the front 7 of the receptacle and cars 10 pass through openings 14: and may be turned over to secure the front of the guide against movement. A handle containing the coin projecting mechanism is also attached at the same time as will later appear.

A member made from a bar of fiat metal is secured at the rear end of the receptacle. This member comprises an upright section 17 with a forward arm 18 bent at its upper end, the front end of which is turned down to make an engaging lip 19 adapted to pass in front of the parts 6 and 6 of lips 3 and the coin guide. At its lower end a second arm 20 is turned forwardly and lies directly above the bottom 2 of the receptacle. An opening 21 is made in the arm and a notch 22 is cut therein in each side at the point where it joins the upright 17. A lug 23 is also struck from said upright a short distance below the upper arm 18. The lower arm is attached to the receptacle by means of an ear 21 struck from the bottom 2 and passed through the opening 21 and bent over as indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 1.

The rear end of the receptacle is closed by a plate 25 of sheet metal, it having side flanges 26 to come one against each side 1 of the receptacle. From said plate 25 two spaced apart connecting members 27 are pressed to engage with the upright 17, sliding thereon from the lower end, the notches at 22 permitting this operation, it being clear that the rear end may be removed or replaced at will for access to the contents of the bank when desired.

A coin projecting mechanism is attached to the receptacle at the front end of the coin guide. This mechanism is mounted on and mostly within a handle 28 shaped, preferably, as a pistol handle or grip, and having two ears 29 to come against the ears 13 of the guide and through which the at taching cars 10 may pass before bending over to secure all of the parts together. A lever 30 passes downwardly through the handle and is ivotally mounted at its lower end on the end 7 of the receptacle, being normally forced toward the guide by a spring 31. A second lever 32 having a weighted end is pivotally mounted within the handle and formed with a hook 33 to engage with a lateral projection 31 on the lever 30, thereby holding the lever 30 in position when moved against the spring. A trigger 35 extends from lever 32 below the handle in position for easy access for releasing lever 30 which under the force of spring 31 will serve to project any coin placed in the guide to the rear, it being noted that the bottom 12 of the guide inclines upwardly from the front to the rear so that the coin normally rolls back against said lever 30. The bottom of the guide is slotted near its rear end at 16 so that if nothing stops the coin before coming to the slot it will drop therethrough into the receptacle.

Above the rear end of the receptacle a circular target carrying plate 36 is mounted to turn about a vertical axis, a central pin 37 having a pointed lower end being attached to the plate and passing downwardly through the arm 18 and its pointed end being received in a suitable seat in the lug 23. The upper end of the pin extends above the plate and may be suitably knurled so as to be easily grasped for rotating the plate. In the plate, near its edges, a plurality of spaced apart slots 38 are cut through each of which a target passes. Each target is made from thin sheet metal, preferably, and includes an upper section 39 cut in the shape of some familiar animal and marked to correspond, and a narrower lower section 40 connected with the upper section by a substantially horizontal intermediate section 11 which lies directly under the plate 36. A lip 12 is struck from the metal and lies in the same plane wit-h the section 11, being adapted to pass under the plate in front of a slot 38 and serving to hold the target upright when thus ositioned. The slots 38 are wide enough that when the targets are moved inwardly, the lips are freed from engagement with the plate 36, permitting the targets to fall through the overbalancing of the same by the larger upper portions 18. The. notches at 5 and 5 are so located that when the targets are upright, the downwardly extending sections 410 may freely pass without striking the coin guide as the plate 36 is rotated.

In practice, the actuating lever 30 is held i rotated with greater 'or lessspeed, as desired, and at the proper time the trigger 85 is operated, releasing'the actuating lever, this projecting the coin along the guide and toward the target carrying plate. If the release of the actuating. lever is timed correctly, one of the depending sections 40 of one of the targets is struck by the coin, the target being moved sufficiently for the lip 42 thereof to disengage from the plate 36,

whereupon the target falls and the coin is stopped so that'it will return down the incline to the front of the receptacle and against the lever 30 which may be again set and the operation repeated. If a target is not struck, the coin passes under the plate 36 until it strikes against the end of arm 18, this stopping the coin so that it drops through the slot 16 into the receptacle.

The structure outlined is relatively simple and may be made a source of amusement and interest, particularly in a contest of skill in operation. The structure may be varied widely in minor details without departing from the invention, and I do not desire to be restricted to the specific disclosure but consider myself entitled to all modifications of structure falling within the scope of the appended claims defining the invention.

I claim:

1. In a device of the character described, a coin receiving receptacle having a coin receiving opening, a target movably mounted on the receptacleto'pass before the opening means to move a coin toward the target, said target intermittently crossing the path of movement of the wines it moves with re-' spect to the receptacle and means to guide the coin to the opening.

2. In a device of the character described, a receptacle having a slot in its upper side, a coin-guide located lengthwise of and at the upper part of the receptacle, means for moving the coin along the guide, a target movably mounted on the receptacle and above the rear end thereof, said target being adapted to pass across the coin guide as it moves, substantially as described.

3. In a device of the character described, a coin receiving receptacle, a target mounted to move over the'receptacle, means for moving a coin over the receptacle, means to guide the coin in its movements, said target moving across the path of movement of the coin, and said receptacle being provided with an opening back of the position of the target when it passes across the path of movement of the coin, whereby the coin passes through said opening and into the receptacle if it does not strike the target, substantially as described.

4. In a device of the character described, a support, a target mounted to move with respect to the support, means to project a missile toward the target, and means to guide the missile, said target intermittently crossing the path of movement of the missile, substantially as described.

5. In a device of the character described, a support, a coin guide including two spaced apart sides located lengthwise of and extending above the support, a rotatably mounted target carrying member at the rear of the support, targets carried by said member which pass across the rear ends of said sides of the coin guide as the target carrying member is rotated, and means for projecting a coin along the coin guide toward said target carrying member.

6. In a device of the character described, an elongated receptacle, a coin guide including two spaced apart parallel sides running lengthwise of the receptacle and extending above the top thereof, a target mounted to move intermittently across the rear end of the coin guide, an actuating member at the.

front end of the coin guide, means to hold said member away from the guide, means to release said actuating member, said receptacle being'provided with a slot in its upper side back of the point where the target crosses the coin guide.

7 In a device of the character described,

an elongated receptacle, two parallel spaced apart sides connected at their lower edges by a bottom and comprising a coin guide located on and positioned lengthwise of the receptacle at its upper side, said bottom between the sides of the coin guide having a slot therein near the rear end of the coin guide, a rotatably mounted target carrying member mounted on the receptacle adjacent its rear end, a plurality of targets carried by said'member, each target having a portion extending below the member and crossing the sides of the coin guide adjacent their rear ends but in front of said slotas it moves with the target carrying member, a spring actuated coin projecting member at the front end of the coin guide, and means for holding and releasing said projecting member.

' 8. In a device of the character described, an elongated receptacle, a coin guide including upstanding parallel spaced apart sides located lengthwise of the receptacle and above the same, said receptacle having a slot in its upper side adjacent the rear end of and between the sides of the coin guide,

member and momentarily crossing the path of movement of the coin at a point in front of the slot.

9. In a device of the character described, an elongated receptacle, a coin guide including two spaced apart parallel sides disposed lengthwise of and extending above the top of the receptacle, means at the front end of the receptacle for projecting a coin rearwardly between the sides of the coin guide, said receptacle having a slot in its upper side between the sides of the guide and adjacent their rear ends, a rotatably mounted target carrying member mounted above and adjacent the rear end of the receptacle, said member having a plurality of slots therein, a target passed through each slot and having upper and lower portions normally located to project above and below the target carrying member and. a lip projecting from each target under the carrying member, the length of said lip and the thickness of the target being less than the width of a slot in the target carrying member, and said lower portions of the targets crossing the sides of the coin guide at a point in front of the slot in the receptacle.

10. In a device of the character described, an elongated receptacle, a coin guide including two parallel spaced apart sides located lengthwise of and projecting above the top of the receptacle, said receptacle having a slot in its upper side between the sides of the guide and near their rear ends, means at the front end of the coin guide for projecting a coin rearwardly between the sides of the guide, and means at the rear end of the guide to stop the coin, substantially as described.

11. In a device of the character described, a receptacle having a slot in its upper side adjacent the rear end of said receptacle, means to project a coin lengthwise of and at the upper part of the receptacle to said slot, and means to guide said coin to said slot, substantially as described.

12. A target carrying member comprising a plate having a slot cut therein, and a target passing through said slot and comprising upper and lower portions normally extending above and below the plate, said upper and lower portions being connected by an integral intermediate portion disposed approximately at a right angle to the upper and lower portions of the target, and a lip projecting from the target in front of said intermediate portion and adapted to lie against the under side of the plate to hold the target in upright position, said slot in the plate being wider than the combined length of the lip and thickness of the target, substantially as described.

13. In a device of the character described, a receptacle comprising sides, bottom, a fixed front end, a removable rear end and two top portions extending toward each other from the sides and terminating short of each other in upturned lips, said front end being slotted at its upper portion for a distance below the upper edge thereof and at a point between said lips, a coin guide adapted to be inserted into said slot at the front of the receptacle and comprising two parallel spaced apart sides and a connecting bottom, the sides curving away from each other at their upper portions and over the upturned lips on the receptacle, and means for securing the guide in place, substantially as described.

14. In a device of the character described, an elongated receptacle having sides, bottom, ends and a top slotted lengthwise thereof, a coin guide comprising sides and connecting bottom disposed at the upper part of the receptacle in the slot thereof, an upright member connected to the receptacle at the rear end thereof, an upper arm extending forward from the upper end of the upright member, a lug extending forward from the upright member below the arm, a pin passing through the arm and having a pointed lower end bearing on the lug, a, horizontal plate connected to the pin above the receptacle, a plurality of targets carried by said plate and adapted to cross the sides of the coin guide as the plate is rotated, and means to project a coin from the front end of the coin guide toward the rear of the receptacle, said coin guide having a slot in its bottom back of the point where the targets cross the coin guide, and each target having a depending portion adapted to cross the path of movement of the coin in the coin guide,

substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

NICHOLAS A. SMITH.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. G. V 

